


Fictober Works

by Mrs_Marlowe



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), The Big Sleep (1946)
Genre: F/M, day 3 was posted first cause i just found out about it, tags will be updated as the month goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-07-24 22:09:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 6,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16184174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Marlowe/pseuds/Mrs_Marlowe
Summary: https://fictober18.tumblr.com/promptsI fill the prompts.





	1. October 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can you feel this?"

Olivia lay on her back in her hospital bed, in more pain than she had ever been in. Childbirth was worse than she could have imagined. But maybe, that’s because of having twins. She looked over at her husband who had just returned from getting his hand put in a cast after her accidentally breaking it. She felt bad, but she hadn’t been able to stop it from happening. She gently patted the bed beside her and he sat down.

“I’m sorry for breaking your hand,” she whispered, hoping that he would accept her apology.

Jacques shrugged lightly. “It’s probably nothing compared to the pain that you felt. I’ll be fine, and I hope you will be too. You accomplished something amazing there.”

Olivia laughed. “Well, you did help.”

Jacques shrugged again. “I got you pregnant, and that’s it really.”

Olivia shook her head. “No, you got me pregnant, took care of me throughout the pregnancy, always accommodating what I needed or wanted, and then got your hand broken while I was giving birth. Don’t underestimate your role in this, my love.”

Jacques smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to her lips.

Olivia reached out and took his hand, stroking it gently. “Can you feel this? Me holding your hand?”

Jacques smiled. “Not completely. I can feel your hand on mine, sort of. I wish I could feel all of you.”

Olivia smiled and pulled his lips to hers again. “I love you, and thank you for taking some time off to spend with me and the babies, you’re the best husband and father we could have asked for.”

Jacques shrugged. “Olivia, really, it’s the least I can do. I should take some leave to be with you. We haven’t had real time together with our babies before, and I want to get to know them, and I want them to know me.”

Olivia smiled. “Can you feel this?”

Jacques laughed. “Feel what?”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “The love between us, my darling.”

“How could I not?”   


	2. October 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "People like you have no imagination."

Olivia sat at the Prufrock staff meeting, wishing that it was already over, despite the fact that it wouldn’t begin for another five minutes. She had her book open on her lap, but it was difficult to concentrate with Nero playing the violin in the corner and other members of staff jabbering away to each other. She just wanted to go back to her library and read until she got tired then go to bed, was the staff meeting really necessary.  

Without even knowing what it was about, Olivia knew that it wasn’t, yet she didn’t want to have to buy Nero a bag of candy, so here she was. She sat away from the rest of the staff. She wasn’t fond of them, and they were not quiet about their dislike for her either. She, a well-read individual, did not fit in with the other staff here, who were more likely to discourage their students from visiting her in the library than they were to encourage the students to read.

Nero finally started the meeting, only ten minutes late (funny how a man could be mad at everyone else for being late when he himself was never on time). She closed her book, holding it in her lap, staring ahead with a straight face. She didn’t want him to think that she was interested in what he had to say (she wasn’t), she was only here to avoid a cruel and unusual punishment.

After an hour of him blabbering on about something or other, and another half an hour of him playing the violin, the meeting was coming to a close. Olivia was getting ready to leave when Nero asked to speak to her.

“Librarian, you should know that the library, due to a lack of funding and lack of caring on anyone’s part, will be having reduced hours from now on,” he said.

Olivia furrowed a brow. “How long will the library be open for?”

“Ten minutes, not a second longer, and I will be checking,” he said, “people like you can’t always get what you want.”

“People like you have no imagination, and that affects the students negatively. The library is supposed to help the children. I don’t care about not being paid much, but please let me keep it open. For the children. Please,” she begged, tears welling in her eyes. There were a few students that she knew would always want to visit, it was like a haven to them. And it was her haven as well.

“My hands are tied on this,” Nero said, stalking off and mimicking her under his breath.

Olivia sighed, her heart breaking. “So much for an oasis in a vast sea of ignorance,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.


	3. October 3

“How can I trust you?” Olivia asked, not thinking before it came out.

Jacquelyn raised a perfectly plucked brow. “Do I seem like the type of person that is untrustworthy to you?”

Olivia shook her head. No, she didn’t; however, her employer was a different matter. Olivia knew better than to judge a good person based on a shitty employer. After all, she used to work for Nero, and that had been a clusterfuck of bullshit from start to finish.

Jacquelyn smiled. “Good, then you’ll be happy to accept my offer of staying at my apartment for the night, just until we can figure out what you’re going to do from there. You shouldn’t grovel and try to get your job back at Prufrock. My friend Larry told me much about you, you’re too bright to be dulled by a place like that,” she said.

Olivia turned pink. She knew Larry, had met him briefly, but she didn’t know what to say about the kindness of either of them. It was more than she had received in a long time. “I’ll accept your offer. Is it just you that lives there?” she asked.

Jacquelyn shook her head. “I couldn’t afford it on this salary. It’s a joke. I live with Larry, and I think that one of our other friends might be crashing for a night or two before he has to get back to work.

Olivia bit her lip. “I don’t want to make your place crowded-”

“No, I won’t hear it. We won’t be crowded. Jacques and Larry will share his room, you can have mine, and I’ll take the sofa. Or whatever, we’ll figure it out.”

Olivia hung her head. There was no way that she could avoid trespassing on this woman’s hospitality. It was amazing that someone this kind could work for a man like Mr Poe. But then, she realized, Jacquelyn wasn’t the only one.

 

The two of them left the bank, Olivia following behind Jacquelyn nervously. Jacquelyn stood outside the bank and looked at her watch, Olivia unsure what they were waiting for.

A few moments later, a taxi pulled up, and Jacquelyn gestured for Olivia to get in first. Obliging her host for the evening, Olivia climbed in and came face to face with the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

“Olivia, this is Jacques. He’s the other friend staying with us tonight.”

Any doubt Olivia had left about whether or not to trust Jacques vanished.  


	4. October 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: “Will that be all?”

“Will that be all?” Larry asked the table in front of him, glad that his shift was finally over. His last table was finishing up, and he wasn’t the type to leave before they finished, and he had already stayed almost an hour after his end time.

Of course, if he didn’t leave in the next 15 minutes, he would be late to meet up with Jacquelyn, Jacques, and Olivia. Of course, Jacques and Olivia were still trying to pretend that they weren’t a couple, but Larry and Jacquelyn knew better.

Larry snapped back into the present as the man at the table handed the cheque back to him, with the money and told him to keep the change. He estimated the family had given him at least a 20% tip... which wasn’t bad, it might be more. He thanked them and wished them all a wonderful evening, slipping into the back and actually putting the money in the register for the food, taking the change and doing his final tip payout to everyone else.

He hated that he had to give the bartenders and cooks part of his tips, but it was better than getting no tips at all. Besides, it had been a good day and he still managed to have about $50 left for himself.

He folded up his apron and grabbed his messenger bag and left the restaurant, seeing Jacques waiting with the taxi just outside. He climbed into the back with Jacquelyn, Olivia sitting with Jacques up front, sitting closer to him than strictly necessary, her head bowed slightly. Larry noticed a twinge of pink on her cheeks, and she was certainly smiling.

Jacques removed his focus from her and pulled back into traffic.

“What’s going on with them?” Larry asked Jacquelyn.

Jacquelyn shrugged. “He had his arm around her and he was whispering sweet nothings to her when I got in the taxi at the bank,” she whispered.

Larry shook his head. “If they’re trying to pretend that they’re not together, they aren’t doing a very good job.”

“I know, they aren’t subtle at all, and to think that I brought them together,” Jacquelyn said. “Though, I am proud that Jacques is happy.”

Larry nodded. “Well, I came home the other day after doing some shopping and they were sleeping on the pullout couch, her head on his chest, his arm around her. They need to just admit it already.”

Jacquelyn nodded. “We’ll help Olivia through her fear, and it will all be better. They’ll be happy.”

“This night is already exciting, and I was worried that it would be boring just watching them flirt with each other all night.”

Jacquelyn snorted. “Oh no, that’s exciting. Grab the popcorn and make some bets as to when it finally happens.”

Larry shook his head. “Alright then.”


	5. October 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Take what you need."  
> Sorry that this was posted a day late, I did not have time to do it yesterday, since it was my birthday.

Olivia sat down across from Jacques at the restaurant he had insisted they go to. She had nothing: no money, no job, no home, and she didn’t really want to admit that to him. She had given up any sense of stability she had in order to try and find the children, but she knew that it was the right thing to do. She would feel awful having such stability and hating it when there were children that longed for even the tiniest bit of such. The Quagmires and the Baudelaires reminded her of herself, and her longing at their age.

Jacques could sense her nervousness, and he knew that she didn’t have very much, and part of him wondered when the last time she’d had much was. If there ever was a time. “Olivia, do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

Olivia flushed. “I- um, I have no money, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to afford this place. I’m sorry, I’ll just have water, and the bread that we were brought,” she said, hoping that he wouldn’t feel too bad.

He did. “Olivia, I brought you here with the express decision that I would pay. I- I want to pay for you. I’m sure that you haven’t had a meal like this in a while, I remember the food at Prufrock, and I’m sure it’s only gotten worse.”

Olivia laughed. “Well, I made a point to never eat in the cafeteria, but the surrounding area didn’t exactly inspire a good appetite,” she replied.

“Order what you want, eat what you need, please. Otherwise I’ll feel worse. I’m sorry that you were uncomfortable there. I should have mentioned that I’m more than happy to pay. You no longer have an income because I failed at my job from the beginning, which was to protect the Baudelaires and the Quagmires from losing their homes in terrible fires. If I-”

“If you had done that, I never would have met you, and I would still have no friends. I know it sounds selfish, but I’m glad that you failed,” Olivia said.

“It’s not selfish, we all deserve friends,” he said, gazing at her and realizing that perhaps he wanted her to be more than just a friend to him. Perhaps one day, after they rescued the children. Marriage and adopting the children? Marriage and having children of their own? Marriage and just them? Perhaps Olivia would be the one to make him happy for the rest of his life. That he would not mind.


	6. October 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I heard enough, this ends now."

Olivia was embarrassed. She knew that she had allowed herself to get into the position she was in now, but it was still weird. Louise was angry with her, and she really wanted to cry. She had gone to the party and ended up in Jacques’ dorm room, and it had escalated from there. Neither of them were at fault, because they were _both_ at fault. They had consented to everything, and yet, Louise didn’t care. She was 16 now, and this wasn’t the first time that she and Jacques had been together. She knew enough to not bring up that fact now though.

“Louise, I can make my own decisions, I’m 16 and I know what I’m doing,” Olivia said, tears welling in her eyes.

Jacques put his arm around Olivia, giving her comfort. “Hear her out Louise. Even you said that when she’s 16, you wouldn’t care about what we did. I’m not going to leave her now. I was never going to leave her.”

“I’ve heard enough, this ends now,” Louise said, Olivia letting out a tiny scream in reply.

“No, you can’t take us away from each other, we’re in love, and we have been in love for two years-” Olivia argued before she was cut off.

“Jacques, you fucking brought her to a college party, what were you thinking? Look, I trust you and I don’t care what the two of you do together, because I know you would never hurt her. But not all guys are like you, okay? Some of them might want to hurt her, and there’s things here that I don’t want her to be exposed to,” she said, turning towards Jacques, who sighed.

Olivia looked at Louise. “Lulu, you’re not mad at Jacques and I for sleeping together?”

“No, why would I be? We made a deal on that, that we all stuck to. And you’re right, you do know what you’re doing, more than a lot of girls your age...” Louise said.

Jacques nodded. “She hasn’t left my sight, and I have been very careful about those things, but you’re right, I shouldn’t have brought her to a party where there are guys who are nearly 10 years older than her. Fuck. Livi, babe, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. I just wanted us to have a good time.”

Olivia nodded, finally understanding. The two of them had always looked out for her, and this time was no different.

“You know what, you actually took pretty good care of her then. Just next time, let’s not bring her to a college party, until she’s in college. I don’t want her being exposed to drinking and drugs, and I’m not concerned about high school parties, because I know that she wouldn’t go. We all know her idea of a party,” Louise said, smiling at them before turning around to leave. “Also, Jacques, you should put a shirt on, your nipples are weird.”

“Don’t listen to her handsome, I love your nipples,” Olivia replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek.  

“Goodnight, that was gross,” Louise said, as she left and closed the door, replacing the tie on the door handle.

 


	7. October 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No worries, we still have time."

“No worries, Olivia, we still have time. This story isn’t over yet,” Jacques had said, the words replaying in her head over and over and over again.

They had run out of time. Of course they had. It was the story of her life, over and over again. Nothing would ever fix this, it was worse than it had ever been before. She’d had hope for a future.

She went back into the tent, taking his jacket into her arms and collapsing. She let the tears fall from her eyes onto the leather. It still smelled like him, and it was sadly comforting.

When she had arrived at the carnival, she had held onto the jacket for a while, drawing strength from Jacques to complete the mission.

Now, she was alone and frightened. Olaf was here and there was no way to stop his plans without the previous Madame Lulu. She didn’t know what she was doing, and didn’t know where the children were. She didn’t know if that would ever change or if she would be found out and be killed.  

“I wanted more time, Jacques, but we ran out. I want more time, even five minutes,” she whispered, falling asleep on the floor of the tent, his jacket in her arms.


	8. October 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I know you do."

“I know you do,” he replied, “and I love you too.”

Olivia had said _I love you_ to him, and he was incapable of maintaining his cool. She was a remarkable woman and the thought of her loving him was more than he had ever expected or imagined.

Olivia turned pink and smiled at him. “R-really? You do?” she asked. She had never really seen herself as anything special or appealing, and yet Jacques liked her? It was more than she could have ever asked for, and she still didn’t think that she deserved it. He was clearly too good for her.

Jacques nodded. “Yeah, I do love you. And I think I have for a while now, not sure how it took me this long to see it. You’re beautiful, and one of my best friends. I would be lucky to have you as my girlfriend.”

“H-how did you know that I love you? You said that you knew,” she said, tilting her head slightly.  

Jacques shrugged. “I guess I realized that you had always looked at me in a way... and I don’t know. I guess that I had hoped, and you wanting to be with me all the time kind of helped that hope,” he said, his face turning red.

Olivia nodded. “I really do love you, and I’ve just been scared to tell you. I don’t know why, I just was. And I still am. Now I’m more scared that you’ll realize that you don’t love me back,” she replied.

Jacques shook his head and offered her his hand. “Let me love you?”

Olivia nodded, taking his hand. “I don’t know what that means, but if you want to, then yes. You can love me.”

“Be my girlfriend? Let me shower you in the love that yearns to spill forth from my heart and be given to you,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh goodness, you really are trying to sound like an Austen hero, aren’t you?” she asked. Austen heroes were her weakness.

Jacques shrugged. “Well, perhaps I am. Would it work?”

“You know that it would,” she whispered, tilting her head and biting her lip.

“So, will you be my girlfriend?” he asked again, unsure as to whether that had been an answer.

Olivia nodded. “You just have to kiss me,” she replied.

Jacques took her chin in his hands and smiled. “I think I can do that,” he replied, leaning forward to press a kiss to her lips.


	9. October 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You shouldn't have come here."

Jacques wrapped an arm around Olivia’s waist, holding her close to him as he looked at Olaf. “You shouldn’t have come here,” Jacques said, his grip on Olivia tightening.

Olaf crossed his arms. “Do you _really_ think you can win against me?” he asked, his tone betraying the cockiness.

Jacques nodded. “I won’t fall for it again this time, you have used up your chance. Olaf, I never believed that you would actually try to murder me. I thought your love for Kit would be stronger than that.”

Olaf shook his head. “No. Maybe once, but not anymore. You’re standing in the way of what I want. You allowed my parents to be killed, you and I are not friends.”

Olivia looked up at Jacques, her expression betraying her worry. “Jacques, we have to get out of here and rescue the children. Please Jacques, I won’t lose you again.”

Jacques looked at Olivia and rubbed her back, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He knew that it had to be done, but he didn’t know how to ensure that Olaf and his henchpeople would never come after the children again.

He wouldn’t let Olivia go again. She had nearly died at Olaf’s hands before he showed up. Her cover having been blown.

“I’m here, Livi, I’m here,” he whispered. “Olaf won’t do anything like this again.”

He let go of her and walked up to his old friend. He took a deep breath before knocking him unconscious. He bent down to tie him up before grabbing Olivia’s hand.

“Going now?” she asked, looking at him and holding out a hand.

Jacques nodded, taking her hand. “He’ll recover, I just can’t bring myself to kill him. I can’t sink to his level and remain the person that I am.”

Olivia nodded. She understood completely. “Let’s get the children and go. Hopefully he won’t find us, and we can be happy.”

Jacques smiled. It was a long shot, but even if Olaf came back, they would make sure the children were safe.


	10. October 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You think this troubles me?"

Olivia frowned at the older boy bullying her. Victor Spats was cruel and she was constantly tormented by him, especially when Jacques and Lulu weren’t around.

“Stop bullying me,” she said, trying to stand up for herself, like Jacques and Lulu encouraged her to do.

Victor pushed her back into the locker bank, making her flinch when he approached her again. “You think this troubles me? You think that trying to make me stop will make me? No. I enjoy doing this to you, weakling nerd.”

Olivia clutched her book in her arms tightly. “Go away,” she said, looking down at her feet. She wished that she felt more confident in herself.

She wished for Jacques to come and make everything better.

A moment later, she heard him coming down the hall. “Spats, get away from my girlfriend. Pick on someone your own size. Like me,” he said.

Victor turned white and began blinking. “N-no thank you,” he whispered.

Jacques took a deep breath. “That’s what I thought. You bully my girl and you’re picking a fight with me. And you _know_ I can take you down.”

Olivia stared at Jacques and slid towards him slightly, grabbing his hand.

Jacques felt her and wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, leading her away from the scene.

“I tried to stand up for myself, but he likes bullying me. He called me a weakling nerd, Jacques,” she whispered.

Jacques led her to the library, to her special corner. “You’re special, and Spats doesn’t see that. His loss. You’re my girl, and that’s what will keep you safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Because hurting you, hurts me.”

“I love you, Jacques. Thank you.”

“I love you, too.”   


	11. October 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "But I will never forget."

Olivia looked at Jacques, unsure of what to do. He had just told her to walk away from all of this. Told her to save herself from everything in the world that he was involved in. To forget about VFD.

“But I will never forget. I’d be incapable of forgetting. I can’t let those children down, Jacques,” she said, tears welling in her eyes.

It wasn’t only that. She had been searching for a family her whole life, and she thought that maybe VFD, and Jacques, could be that family. And now he wanted her gone.

“Olivia! I’m trying to protect you. The world is dangerous and I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Those children are getting hurt because of the world you live in. I’m not letting them go through this without trying to help.”   

“You’ve done more than enough. I’m not letting you get hurt!”

Olivia froze. “What? Why?”

Jacques looked down. “Because I think I might be in love with you.”

Olivia frowned. “That’s impossible. Don’t say that. I’m helping you with this.”

Jacques looked at her. “Okay, you can help me, and I’ll be glad for your help,” he said.

Did she truly believe herself to be unlovable? Surely that wasn’t what she meant. It couldn’t be. She was smart, beautiful, insightful, hard-working, well-read, and compassionate; just to name a few of the best qualities that stood out to him.

Olivia smiled at him. Surely he didn’t like her like that. No one did, no one ever had, or could. She was not special. She never had been, but part of her wanted to be. “Thank you, let’s get back to work,” she said, pushing down the feelings that she had for Jacques.

Jacques nodded. “Yeah, we’d better get back to work,” he said, opening up the door to the taxi, smiling at Olivia.


	12. October 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Who could do this?"

Jacques found Olivia laying at the foot of the stairs, a thin trail of blood on her forehead. He dropped down beside her and lifted her into his arms. He felt for her pulse, which was still there before letting out a breath. _Who had done this? Who_ could _do this?_ he asked himself, tears welling in his eyes. He would find whoever hurt his girlfriend, and he would make sure that they paid for what they had.

He pressed tiny kisses to Olivia’s head, checking her pulse every moment or so. “Babe, please wake up,” he whispered, over and over again. 

When she finally awoke, she winced as her eyes opened. “Jacques, is that you?” she whispered.

Jacques nodded. “Yeah, babe, I’m here. I won’t let you go. Who did this to you?”

Olivia sighed lightly, bringing a hand up to touch the cut on her forehead. “I don’t know. Someone pushed me, or I tripped. I don’t know. I had one drink, and that’s it. I wasn’t irresponsible.”

Jacques nodded. “I passed out, babe. I’m sorry. Damn, I wish I had found you sooner.”

Olivia smiled softly. “Can you take me to the school nurse, I’m worried about my head.”

Jacques nodded. “Yeah, let’s go. No more parties for us, I guess,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the cut on her forehead.

Olivia nodded lightly. “I’m okay with that,” she said.

“So am I, Olivia. So am I,” he replied, carrying her off to the nurse, his desire for revenge still prominent.


	13. October 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Try harder next time."  
> Switched the wording of the prompt a bit. Sorry.

Olivia sat outside the headmaster’s office at the school she had just sat the entrance exam for. She thought that she had done okay, but she wasn’t the type of kid who had a lot of confidence. There had been so much pressure on her to get in, or her foster family was threatening to give her up. If she didn’t get in, she’d be moved to another family, and it was already getting harder and harder to find families for her since she had been bumped around so much.

They were asking what was wrong with her and many weren’t taking her. They didn’t want to care for a quiet kid who had difficulty making friends. They didn’t want a girl who required speech therapy still, even though she was almost ten (wasn’t her fault that after she was orphaned, they pulled her from the program for four years!) They didn’t want a girl who just wanted to read all the time. She had nothing to offer a family.

The headmaster came out of his office and Olivia stood up.

“Miss Caliban, please come in,” he said, gesturing for her to enter the office.

Olivia entered and took a seat as she was prompted to.

The headmaster sat down and offered her a smile. “Well, you did pass the entrance exam, but you were half a point below the other student that you were up against... it was the oral part of the examination,” he said, his smile turning to a frown, understanding that it wasn’t her fault.

Olivia nodded. “I’m s-sorry,” she stammered, tears welling in her eyes. If she hadn’t been pulled from her therapy, this wouldn’t have happened.

“You did score higher in the reading comprehension, if that is any consolation,” he said, smiling again.

Olivia shrugged. “Can I go now?” she asked, knowing that she would have to go back to the house and pack up her few belongings so her worker could come pick her up.

The headmaster nodded and Olivia got up and shuffled from the room, heading to the house with her book clutched in her arms.

 

By the time she got back, the father of the family had already heard. He began shouting at her that her worker was coming to pick her up and that she better be ready to go in half an hour.

Olivia nodded, not bothering to apologize. She didn’t want to be mocked.

 

Sitting in the back of the car, 30 minutes later, she looked at what little she had. A Princess Belle suitcase and backpack, and the book in her lap. She had nothing and nobody.

“It’s okay,” her worker said, smiling lightly out of the rear-view mirror. “Next time, you’ll try harder, and your family will keep you.”

 

They didn’t.


	14. October 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Some people call this wisdom."

Olivia sat in front of her new foster family, looking at them warily. They were lecturing her about fire safety, which was odd. She knew all these things already. She didn’t understand why she was being taught this. Even talking about it made her feel anxious after what had happened with her parents.

“Of course, some people would call all this wisdom, but others clearly aren’t taught about fire safety,” the mother said, a sneer accompanying her statement.

Olivia furrowed her brow, hugging her stuffie close. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, having your parents die in a fire, clearly they knew little to nothing about fire safety, which means they had nothing to pass on to you,” she replied, a mean smile coming to her face.

Olivia felt tears come to her eyes. They were being cruel. “I-it was a-a-arson,” she stammered. It wasn’t her parents’ fault that they had died. She missed them every single day, and being told all of this wasn’t helping.

The parents shook their heads. “Alright, so you’re sleeping in the guest room, there isn’t much room to unpack, but you don’t have much,” the father said, glancing at her backpack and suitcase.

Olivia squeezed her stuffie tighter and looked down. She didn’t really have anything. Her suitcase contained the barest of essentials, her backpack contained a couple books and her school things.

The pair waved her away and she stood up, taking her things into the hall. She could hear them muttering something about monitoring her to ensure she wasn’t trying to start any fires. She wouldn’t, couldn’t. She was panicked just thinking about fires.

More than that, she didn’t know _where_ the guest room was, and she was scared to ask. She pressed herself against the wall and tried to make herself smaller.

An older girl came down the stairs quietly. “Hi,” she said, offering her hand to Olivia. “You must be the new foster girl. I’m Louise, the ‘other one’, it’s nice to meet you.”

Olivia looked at Louise’s hand and held her stuffie closer. She didn’t really want to talk to this girl. She was bigger and intimidating. Louise sensed something was off. “Where do they want to put you?” she asked the six-year-old, tilting her head slightly. She hoped she could get the child to trust her, she wanted to protect the girl. This wasn’t the most pleasant of households.

“The guest room,” Olivia mumbled.

Louise nodded. “Come along with me, I’ll show you where it is. Do you want me to help you with your case? You can carry your backpack and your Belle,” she suggested.

Olivia nodded and picked up her backpack, putting it over her shoulders as Louise picked up her suitcase, offering Olivia a smile.

Louise helped Olivia get settled in briefly. “I’ll look out for you, don’t worry.”

Olivia smiled lightly. “Thank you,” she whispered as Louise turned to leave. She sat down on the bed. She didn’t like this place, but hopefully it would be the last foster home she was moved to.

It wasn’t.

 


	15. October 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I thought you had forgotten."

Olivia sat next to her boyfriend in the school cafeteria, silently eating her lunch. It was their anniversary, and he had said nothing. They had been a whole year since they started dating, how had he forgotten.

“Hey, Liv, wanna do something tonight?” he asked before taking a bite of his sandwich.

Olivia nodded. “Yeah darling, when don’t I want to do date night?” she asked, shifting closer to him. Maybe he had planned something, Jacques wasn’t like guys that forgot important things like anniversaries.

Jacques smiled. “Great, wear something cute. No issue for you though, you’re always cute.”

Olivia flushed lightly. “Yeah, well you’re better than cute, you’re gorgeous,” she said, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

Jacques smiled and returned the kiss. “Alright babe, I have to get to class. Pick you up at 6:30?” he asked, getting up.

Olivia nodded, “see you later, baby,” she said, tilting her head up to get his kiss.

At 6:30, Olivia saw Jacques pull up at her dorm, and her smile was broad. She had her anniversary gift for him in her bag, and she was hoping that he remembered.

She climbed into the car and pressed her lips to his eagerly.

Jacques looked at her and smiled. She was dazzling in her blue dress over the white blouse that made her look like Belle’s outfit from the village scenes in _Beauty and the Beast_. He assumed, knowing his beautiful girlfriend, that had been her intention. He always felt a little underdressed on dates with her, usually wearing jeans and a nice shirt; and yet, she never made him feel bad. She liked it.

He drove them to the restaurant, the two of them chatting quietly about their days. “Jacques, do you know what today is?” she asked, tilting her head as he took her hand and led her into the restaurant.

Jacques smiled to himself, shrugging lightly. _Of course he knew._ How could he have forgotten about their anniversary. A year ago today, he had gotten a soccer ball kicked straight at his lower region, and started dating the cute girl who had done it. And now she loved the place she had kicked a ball at, and he was in love with her.

Olivia sighed and allowed them to be led to a table. Jacques pulled the box out of his pocket and smiled. She was going to love it. “You were talking about our anniversary. You thought I forgot. How could I forget?”

Olivia shook her head. “I thought you had forgotten. You haven’t mentioned it all day, and I thought that it wasn’t all that important to you,” she whispered.

Jacques shook his head. “I got you a present, and there is nothing you could do to erase this day from my calendar. It’s one of my favourite days of the year,” he said, taking her hand and putting the box on the table, sliding it over to her.

Olivia flushed and reached into her bag to pull out the gift for him, sliding it over to him.

Olivia looked at him with a smile before opening the box and gasping. It was a locket with a rose on it, like _Beauty and the Beast_. She turned it over, reading the engraving ‘ _To my darling Olivia xx_ ’. She smiled up at him and he gestured for her to open it. She opened it and gasped. It was a picture of them, one taken by his mother over the school holidays, when they had gone to Disney with his family. “Thank you darling,” she said, as he got up, holding out his hand. Olivia handed it to him and he put it on her, his hand grazing to the locket around her neck, brushing across her breasts gently before pressing a kiss to her ear. “I love you,” he whispered, taking his seat again.

Olivia was pink. “Thank you, baby. O-open yours now,” she said, eager for him to open his gift.

Jacques opened the small package. It was a keychain that read ‘ _Drive safe, I need you here with me. xOlivia_ ’. Jacques smiled at it happily, tears coming to his eyes. His last car had gotten hit in an accident a few months before, and he had come out unscathed. Of course, it had not been his fault, but it had freaked Olivia out receiving the call from his dad that he’d been in accident. “Thank you so much baby. I love the reminder. I love you.”

Olivia nodded. She knew that he always drove safe, but it was a reminder borne from love. She leaned over the table and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Thank you for not forgetting our anniversary,” she whispered.

“I never could, my love,” he replied.

“That’s not your _only_ present darling,” she whispered.

Jacques swallowed. “I look forward to the rest of it.”


	16. October 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This is going to be so much fun!"

Olivia squealed loudly and jumped up and down in excitement. Jacques had just told her that his family was inviting her to go to Disney World with them over the holidays. She had never been, but had been on the verge of it once. “Jacques! This is going to be so much fun! Disney World is amazing!”

Jacques smiled up at his girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her and pulled her into his arms. “And my parents are letting us have our own room. It’s one designed in the style of _Beauty and the Beast_ , because you’re my Belle,” he said, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Olivia bit her lip and her face broke into a smile. “That’s even better. Us, all alone, in a room overnight… all trip long. How many nights?” she asked.

Jacques laughed lightly, feeling himself become even more excited for the trip. Being alone with Olivia was rare, his parents adored her and always tried to include her in their family activities, even though she rarely slept over. He had begged his parents to let them have their own room on the trip, and he had won with the promise that he would use the condoms they had bought if they did anything. The two of them were _interested_ in doing those things, but had never gotten that far. They didn’t think they were ready. But he couldn’t very well tell his parents the things that he and Olivia _had_ done, now could he. “Yeah, and we might even get to do things that we haven’t done before, if we think we want to. It’s going to be a great trip. We should work on our Disneybound stuff as soon as we can. I presume you’ll be Belle?”

Olivia nodded. “Who else could I be? It would look weird for Ariel to be carrying a book around the whole time,” she said.

“And you don’t need to change a thing about your appearance as Belle either. You’re beautiful, and you look just like her,” he said.

Olivia flushed and pressed herself into his embrace. “Oh Jacques, you’re too sweet,” she said, cuddling against him.

Jacques held her close, grateful to have such a great girlfriend. He wondered what it would be like, going to Disney with her and watching her enjoy life to the max, with hopefully little to no anxiety or depression issues. He didn’t mind helping her out when her mental illnesses reared their heads. He would always be there for her, but he still hoped that the most magical place on Earth would also help her out. He did have some very exciting plans for the two of them while they were there.

He led her to his bed and laid down with her on it. He held her close as she fell asleep, excited for their trip, dreaming of the most magical place on Earth.

Jacques drifted off and dreamt of her smile and how beautiful she would look with it broad and happy, lit up with excitement when they finally got there. He couldn’t wait.


End file.
